Was this the right thing?...
"I'm so excited. This is the first time we went out to a romantic place like in
a movie."
Aoey was so happy. She smiled so big that I saw her beautiful teeth. I could
tell by her eyes that she was really happy "What a date?."
"Isn't this a date?"
"There will be one more person here with us today."
The soft eyes deflated like a balloon I just burst.
"I thought you were going to take me on a date and we'll end the night in
bed."
She made a sweet and cute face for me.
"But it's okay. I'm happy you're here. We'll go home together just the two of
us anyway. It's like a date to me."
"What would you do if I wasn't with you?"
"I couldn't go on living."
She responded immediately. I had a sharp pain in my heart. The soft eyes
looked at me worried.
"Why did you say that? I don't feel well."
"You were fine before.."
"Did you bring me here to break up with me?"
Aoey looked so worried that I had to laugh. She was so adorable and cute.
That day would come. The day she couldn't be by her side. And it looked
like It was going to
arrive soon.
"I can finish you at home. I shouldn't take you somewhere nice."
"Don't know. You're acting strange lately. You have something in mind but
you don't tell me."
"You must be worried about me.."
"I want to take away your pain. I can handle it all by myself, if that helps
you."
"
I wanted to cry hearing that. Damn! How could I leave her? Even though it
was a short period, I was very happy. She was my first everything.... She
was my first love. Was there really nothing else I could do? Why did it turn
out like this? My phone rang and I had to shift my gaze from Aoey to my
phone. I got up to take the call.
"Please wait here. I'll talk to my friend."
*Who is it?"
I didn't say anything but I walked away to take that friend to the table. I
turned around when I called once a friend was here. Her gentle eyes looked
gloomy immediately..
"Mother."
Teacher Salee looked at her daughter full of love but she did not express
any love. She just stood there and looked at Aoey. She didn't help the
atmosphere at all. She had to say something.
"Please sit down."
Once the woman sat down, Aoey quickly stood up. She refused to be at the
same table with her.
"What is this? Why did you bring her here?"
"Let's talk Aoey."
"No!"
She was so adamant about that. Other people in the restaurant started
staring at us.
"Please sit down. Let's talk."
"No, I don't want to talk."
"Sit down!"
The soft eyes looked at me not at all happy, but sat in silence as I ordered
her. I was proud of myself because sometimes I could control her with
words.
"Do what I told you."
I just said it and she always did what I asked. Now Aoey sat down, but the
atmosphere was still gloomy. I wanted her mother to be here to clear things
up. I needed to help repair this relationship... This was not my area at all...
"Aoey... please talk to your mother. Teacher Salee misses you,"
I started but Aoey gave me a fierce look and smiled.
"Do you think she misses me? She's in Bangkok because she was looking
for her murdered husband, right?"
Teacher Salee who heard the sarcastic statement tried to contain herself.
"Stop saying that, Aoey."
"Is it not true? And your name is mom... don't you feel uncomfortable? I
call you mom because I don't know what to call you. Master Salee, this
woman... or aunt?"
Aoey was so mean in a way I had never seen her before.
"Be nice to your mom, Aoey."
"If you were me, you wouldn't be nice either!"
Finally she stood up and exploded.
"A mother who forgot a baby she raised once a new man came in. You
never cared about what had happened. You judged me even if I was the
victim!"
"I saw that you were flirting... you took off your clothes one by one.
Nobody forced you to do anything."
What she said shocked me even more. That was the other side of the story I
hated hearing. But I had to listen to them.
"Do you know why I had to do that? You never heard what I said. You
insulted me. You think I seduced him. I wasn't a bastard here. Was you."
"Hey!"
Teacher Salee slammed the table. Now other tables heard our entire
conversation. Everyone paid attention to us, but the two of them didn't care
anymore.
"Why did I take off my clothes? Because she said that if I didn't do it, she
would post the video she recorded on the Internet!"
Aoey said and grabbed her heart.
"What do you think I fell into by acting like a porn star every time I had to
give in? Do you know how painful it was to act as a porn star in a movie I
didn't want to do?"
"Aoey..."
Teacher Salee was surprised. It seemed like no one had heard of it. She
wanted to cry once she heard. My heart was so painful but I had to listen to
her.
"Do you know how old I was when he did this to me? I had to take birth
control pills and took the morning after pill because of him!"
Aoey hugged herself and cried like crazy.
"I hated myself everyday. I couldn't let anyone touch me. They were all
disgusting. But you never realized this. You cared more about your man
than me. You are a teacher. You taught thousands of children, but why
couldn't you see what was happening to me? Because?"
"He sent me the videos to remind me that it was recorded. I never deleted
them. I kept them to remind myself of what I had been through. It's a good
thing he's dead...otherwise I'd be the one to kill him."
"I never knew this. You never told me."
Teacher Salee trembled. She walked towards Aoey, but Aoey moved away
from her. There was no respect in Aoey's eyes.
Teacher Salee was a different person.. Ignorance was a killer. Teacher Salee
was one of them..
"You never listened to me. You called me a bitch and kicked me out of the
house. You threw a 500 baht bill in my face, remember?"
Aoey hit her chest.
"You yelled at me and told me that I was adopted. I didn't have anyone else
in this world, but you kicked me out. If I didn't have Gen, how would I have
ended up? Do you have any idea?"
I left a thousand baht bill on the table and walked towards her.
"Let's go home, Aoey."
I was wrong... I invited her mother to fix the relationship but it was
impossible. I just emphasized the pain. I knew she had been through a bad
experience, but I never knew how bad she was. My guilt for asking my dad
to take action was less once I heard all the brutal details. I guess... that's
why she seemed happy when she saw the news. Some people might think
that this matter should be left to the law. But for a victim like her, a
watchman was the most beautiful thing for her. It was fast without any
process. It was hell delivered to the one who deserved it after having gone
through hell herself. The people who judge those who took revenge are the
people who have never encountered that. Now that we were in the parking
lot, Aoey pushed me and started hitting me with her fist in anger.
"Why did you call her here? Why did you do this?"
She hit and grabbed my neck. She couldn't control herself. I wasn't mad at
her, but I tried to calm her down by hugging her. It wasn't easy.
"It's okay, Aoey."
"Not well. Why did you do that? Did I ever tell you I wanted to see her?
Why are you meddling with my affairs!"
I hugged Aoey who was now crying like crazy. I didn't feel angry at all. I
tried to hug her but she tried to get away from it. When I got her, she cried
and cried. I cried too... I was full of pity. I now understood her when she
said she would endure the pain herself to help me.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would hurt you so much."
"Because you did?
She calmed down a little but continued crying. I patted her and rocked her
to calm her down. I tried to make it more stable.
"I don't want you to think that you are alone in the world."
"I have you."
"If one day I'm not here, you will have your mother."
I hadn't finished my sentence, she pushed me.
"Why do you keep saying that? Where are you going?"
Her angry tone of hers silenced me and that made her sweet eyes look at me
in disbelief even though she still had tears on her face.
"Tell me, where are you going, Gen?"
"My family has a problem... I may not be here with you anymore."
"No..."
Aoey grabbed my arms tightly as if I were going to disappear at that
moment.
"I can not live without you. You can't leave me."
Her mood suddenly changed from angry to scared. She was so scared that
she hugged me and buried her face in my chest while she shook her head in
disbelief. I stroked her back to calm her down.
"I'm not leaving now."
"I won't let you go at any time. Do not leave Me. I can't live without you."
She looked at me.
"In this world, I only have you. How can I continue living without you?"
Damn! I felt like my heart was about to break into pieces. I loved her and I
cared about her too. Now l realized how bad the relationship between her
and her mother was. Leaving her seemed to be the worst thing for her.
"Promise me you won't go anywhere. You will not leave me."
"Say you promise!"
I looked her in the eyes and nodded.
"I promise."
"That's good... very good."
Aoey put both arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug. We stayed
like that for a while and returned to the condo. The youngest girl now
followed me everywhere as if she was afraid that I would disappear at any
moment. Teacher Salee still contacted me through my phone after that day.
The old lady sounded so sad. She sounded like she was holding back tears
all the time when she talked to me. She must have felt guilty and shocked
for Aoey.
"Gen... please, take good care of her. She must be mad at me. I don't think
she'll listen to me even if I visit her. She now only has you. Please take
good care of her."
That emphasized the fact that I couldn't leave her. She had no one but me.
After the talk with Uncle Somkit that day, there wasn't much of an update.
Everything was still under investigation, both the murder and money
laundering. Dad spent that time reselling some of his assets and saving
money in a bank abroad. My mom kept updating me on that. She just
warned me to be prepared.
Aoey has been so attached to me lately. One day, she even skipped school
just to be with me. If she were at school, she would call me every hour to
see where she was, what I was doing. If it were other people, I would be
very upset, but I understood how eye candy felt. And because I loved her. I
loved Aoey... It was love.
"Why do you have to go with your dad? You did not do anything wrong?"
Aoey asked one day after we finished watching a Korean TV series.
"I didn't do anything wrong, but we won't have any money if we stay here.
My family already transferred all our money out of the country.
"Are you going for money?"
"My father's old enemies will also be waiting when he falls. They will
immediately take revenge when they know. The best revenge will be to hurt
his daughter and son, you know?"
I asked Uncle Somkit why I had to run too. He gave me that reason. But the
main reason was money. All property and money would be confiscated if he
was proven guilty. In that case, we would be bankrupt.
"But why do you leave? Are you afraid of not having money or because of
your dad's enemies?"
"Maybe both reasons. I just need to be prepared,"
I replied, but her mood immediately changed.
"You promised you wouldn't leave."
"I promised I wouldn't leave."
"Really?"
Aoey immediately looked happier. I reached out to pinch her cheek.
"But we can't live together here, right?"
"Yes, there will be a lot of expenses. We have to move somewhere first, but
we don't know where to go yet. If that day really comes, the day I have no
money. I'll be poor Genlong who doesn't even know how to make money."
"Do not be afraid. You've got me. I will support you."
"Oh really? You can?"
"Yes of course. If you're just with me, I can do everything... Speaking of
this... I have to go."
Suddenly, Aoey jumped to her laptop on the table. She searched for
something. The light from her laptop shone on her face. I looked at her with
admiration.
"Are you writing a novel?"
"No, I'm looking for a new address for both of us."
The soft eyes looked at me and smiled.
"I like this feeling. We are fleeing."
"So we won't get married?"
"We don't have to get married. I am happy when you are with me. You are
my vitamin."
I loved her... the girl with glasses sitting there. We were both obsessed with
each other. Every time I thought about leaving her, it caused me a lot of
pain. I decided that if that day came, I would not run away with my family.
I would stay with Aoey.
I wanted to try this. I got out of bed and sat next to Aoey who was looking
for our new place. There was a place in a small town in Thailand, there
were not that many people. We both agreed that if we had to escape, we
would choose to be there.
Somewhere only we knew...
"So we agree."
She smiled widely at me. I nodded but didn't take it seriously. But I thought
it might be possible. It was cheap and quiet.
"Yes here."
"If we're going to hide, we'll go there."
Aoey hugged me happily.
"Here is our new home."
"Yes, our new home
